This invention is related to a cleaning system to clean the valve chamber of a valve that is connected in a lading carrying network. The invention is related to a system which accomplishes the function of cleaning the valve chamber of a valve when the valve is moved from the open position to the closed position.
In regard to the prior art of cleaning valve chambers, the known devices are only manually operable and basic at the best. The Mellett U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,083 dated Jan. 29, 1952 discloses a valve chamber with an auxiliary inlet, an auxiliary outlet, and a valve chamber drain so that a person can manually operate valves in flowlines connected to these auxiliary ports to fill and drain the valve chamber. The Moran et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,941,443 issued Dec. 26, 1933 is even more basic in that it provides an auxiliary fluid passageway from the upstream side of a flow-line connected to the valve into the bottom of the valve chamber so that in the open position of the valve additional fluid can be passed into the valve chamber to dislodge sediment, scale, and so forth which may accumulate within the valve. In equipment designed for handling of foodstuffs and liquids for human consumption, it is often necessary to flush the system which contains such material if the system is to remain idle for some time in order to avoid stagnation and contamination. One example of such a system is a beer dispensing system in a tavern which has one or more remote outlets spaced a distance from a common keg of beer. When the system is to remain idle for some time, the beer is flushed from the lines by various inlets and outlets to the system and water is passed through the flowlines normally occupied by the beer.